He gave her a confused look. “Why’s that?”
“Because if it can mutate that quickly? We can’t possibly come up with a cure.”
Roger straddled his bike and reached for the starter once more. “Just go and talk to Candy. She knows about you.”
“You really think she’ll listen to me without you there with me?” He shook his head. “I think you suffered brain damage when they shaved your face, man.”
Roger sighed and clenched his jaw. “Look, man. I can’t go back. She doesn’t want me there and besides, I’ve been tempted with this whole cut-and-run idea since this whole thing began.”
“You think you’re the only one that wants out from under Simon’s thumb?” Mike snorted. “Every swinging dick in that camp would bail if they thought they could get away.”
“All the more reason for you to…” Roger trailed off, his head slowly turning and scanning the sky.
“What’s wrong? Ragers?” Mike suddenly went on the defensive.
“Shh!” Roger held a hand up to silence him.
“What is it?” Mike whispered.
“Do you hear that?” Roger stepped off his motorcycle and spun a slow circle. “It’s sounds like it’s coming from the north.”
“What the hell are you…” Mike trailed off, his ears finally picking up on what Roger was excited about. “Is that a helicopter?”
“It sure sounds like it.” Roger stepped away from his motorcycle and stared toward the sound. “Oh, no…no, no, no—”
“What man? What’s wrong?”
“It’s him!” Roger jumped back on his bike and turned the ignition on. “Look, man, you gotta intercept the gang. Steer them away from this place until we can take out Simon!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“It’s him!”
“Him, who?” Mike reached out and grabbed the handlebars of Roger’s bike. “Who the hell are you talking about?”
“The dude that gave Simon the slip out on the highway? The one that the chopper saved? HIM!”
“That Danny guy?”
“Yes! Now go!” Roger pushed at the larger man. “If we heard that damned chopper, then you know Simon did, too. He’s gonna come after this guy, because that’s what he does. He can’t just let it go.”
“What the hell do you expect me to do?” Mike asked as he straddled his own bike.
“Get between the camp and the warehouse. When they come looking for the chopper, redirect them, send them on a wild goose chase, something…ANYTHING!” Roger hit the starter and revved the engine. “I’m going back to the warehouse and hopefully I can convince them to either leave or hide the chopper.”
Mike groaned and started his own bike. “I can’t promise anything.”
“Do your best, man. That’s all I can ask.” Roger kicked the Harley into gear and spun it around to face the opposite direction. He revved the engine and shot back toward the way he had come.
Mike watched him leave, then pulled out and pointed his bike in the opposite direction. “Just stop them, he says. Like those sons of bitches will listen to me.”
Chapter 19
Skeeter slid to a stop at Hatcher’s office and threw herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed tightly.
“Woah, easy there.” Hatcher pried her arms loose and bent low to look her in the eye. “I brought you something.”
He stepped aside and watched as Skeeter’s eyes slowly grew wide.
“More like, he brought you someone.” Buck stepped from the corner of the office and held his arms out. “I missed you, Skeet.”
She practically launched herself at him and the pair almost fell to the floor from her tackle. “I can’t believe you’re alive!”
“Me neither, sometimes.” He pulled her tighter and lifted her from the ground. “I think you’ve grown.”
She landed on her feet and eyed him playfully. “Nope, you shrunk some!” She poked at his sides and he jumped. “But I’m really glad to see you.” She fell forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Sorry, I didn’t have time to clean up first. We were pretty much on the run the entire time.”
She shot him a wide smile and tugged at his arm. “Come on. I’ll show you where you can clean up.” The pair slipped out of Hatcher’s office and he practically fell into his chair. He had just reached for the bottle of hooch he kept hidden in the bottom drawer when Skeeter slid back into his office.
“Did you forget something?”
She threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you for saving him.”
Hatcher chuckled as he patted her back. “He did all the hard work.” He leaned back and eyed her. “He stayed alive this whole time on his own. I just got him a ride here.”
“Still…” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “I owe you.” A quick wink and she disappeared into the hallway again.
Hatcher smiled to himself, then reached for the drawer. After losing Captain Hollis and discovering that Bren didn’t survive her encounter with the CDC labs, he needed a stiff drink.
“Well, ain’t that a fine kick in the ass.”
He turned to see Candy and Vicky Sue standing in the doorway.
“You aren’t back five minutes and you’re already hitting the bar. You could at least say hello.”
Hatcher lifted the bottle and was about to ask them both to join him when he realized that the bottle was nearly empty. “I could have sworn there was a lot more in here when I left.”
“It probably evaporated.” Vicky suggested as she pushed her way through the door. She wrapped her arms around her brother and squeezed. “It’s good to have you home again.”
“It’s good to see you, too.” He emptied the bottle into his coffee cup and took a long pull. “You have no idea how much I needed that.”
Candy plopped into the chair opposite his desk. “So, tell us all about it. I’m assuming you had fun, since you didn’t even bother to send a postcard.” She shot him a sly grin.
Hatcher stared at the cup in his
